There was a research done not that long ago which showed that people have a tendency to overestimate their capabilities.
What this means is that we, in general, overestimate how capable we are, how intelligent we are, how thoughtful we are, and so on.
What this also means is that we can easily end up overestimating how positive we are, especially if that is a state of mind you want to adopt or be known for.
This can be a problem because this tendency, this cognitive bias, can create blind spots. Believing that you are more positive than you actually are can blind you to areas that need to be worked on.
This tendency, in turn, can end up making you more negative as you will be blinded by your incorrect belief. If you have ever come across someone who gets defensive or even gets offended if someone tells them that they are being negative or pessimistic, you have seen this in action.
The truth of the matter is that believing yourself to be positive matters, but what matters more is being objective if your goal genuinely is to lift up your thoughts, beliefs, and consciousness.
Feedback from others, especially the people close to you (like your friends and family) can be very useful in this regard. But you can also help yourself with this by becoming aware of how often you are being positive, and negative, throughout a day. You can even start journaling about them or create a log to note the number of positive and negative thoughts you have.
If nothing else, this can help you see if you are on the right path if the number of positive thoughts are far more than the negative ones. However, if you see that your negative thoughts are almost on par with your positive thoughts or then the negative thoughts actually outweigh the positive ones, then you will know that you have work to do.
On that note, here's a small quiz that will help:
On a scale of 1-5, how positive are you in general?
Now, on a scale of 1-5, how negative are you?
Third question, and be really honest: are you more positive than negative?
This small exercise can help you establish a baseline that you can use to work on improving yourself. Becoming a better person and growing yourself takes work, and honesty.
You need to be honest with yourself about your own challenges and areas that need improvement. Without that honesty, you will live in a make-belief world where you are perfect, and that mentality is a surefire way to get stuck in life and worse, go downhill.
Be honest with yourself about what areas of your life needs work, especially when it comes to your usual frame of mind, because self-delusion is terrible for you.
Think smart,
Salek
P.S. Adopting an attitude of gratitude is a great way to actively become more positive (and stave off negativity). If you want to learn more about that, check out this talk on gratitude.